Tamil Nadu - Tiruchi   

Field Water Testing Kits to all village panchayats

— Photo: R. Ashok

Quality check: The field water testing kit distributed to village panchayats in Tiruchi district.

TIRUCHI: The Tamil Nadu Water Supply and Drainage Board (TWAD) has distributed Field Water Testing Kits free of cost to all the 408 village panchayats in the district to enable the villagers check the quality of water available in their respective places.

The TWAD Board, through its Rural Water Supply Division, has imparted training to panchayat presidents, panchayat clerks, ‘Makkal Nala Paniyalargal’ and select group of women self help group members on water testing procedures using the compact kit besides enlightening them on various aspects connected with it.

Costing Rs. 2,500 each, the water testing kits have been distributed through the Central government funded Rajiv Gandhi National Drinking Water Mission.

In addition to village panchayats, the Board has distributed two kits to each of the 14 panchayat unions in the district, TWAD Board officials told The Hindu.

Developed by the TWAD, the kit could be used for testing some critical water quality parameters at the field itself and get first hand information about the general quality of water.

The kit contains reagents to find out water quality parameters such as its pH, Alkalinity and Hardness as well as Chloride, Fluoride, Iron, Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate, Phosphate and Residual Chlorine content in the water. It also contains a pH booklet to measure the pH value of water, a measuring cylinder to measure water sample, titration cup, a syringe and a small information card in Tamil containing the procedures to test the water sample by themselves.

A training manual has been provided to all the trainees who underwent the water testing training programme. Five members in each panchayat have been imparted the comprehensive training during which importance of water testing, water borne diseases, its prevention and control measures and issues connected with health and hygiene were explained in detail, says a senior official.

The Board, through its Communication and Capacity Development Unit, had distributed such kits free of cost to over 200 government schools in Tiruchi, Thanjavur and Pudukottai districts till now and trained around 900 students and about 240 teachers on water testing procedures, an official said. Plans are afoot to conduct similar programmes to school students, teachers in Perambalur, Tiruvarur and Nagapattinam districts in the next phase.

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